National consulting firm, Elixir Consulting, has launched what it says is the largest practice management research study into financial services businesses in Australia.
The purpose of the study, according to a release from the firm – which will include a dedicated examination of life insurance advice processes, is to endeavour to uncover practical techniques that can redefine efficiency and productivity norms within the industry, and ultimately improve the impact firms have on their clients and staff.
Well-known and respected Elixir MD, Sue Viskovic, says many advisers report their productivity has remained flat or declined, despite the boom in technology in recent years. She adds she and her team are on a mission to help the whole profession:
- Break through their efficiency barriers
- Reduce the cost of advice
- Increase the quality and quantity of services each adviser can deliver
Viskovic says the results of this study will lift the lid on how firms conduct their business, leveraging the collective wisdom of the advice profession to discover what’s working well and what’s holding some firms back from achieving their true potential.
“The information we gather will form a series of reports and solutions that will assist advice firms to understand more effective ways to structure their teams, organisational design and pricing for a sustainable business,” says Viskovic.
Life insurance advice
In the critical area of life insurance, Viskovic notes that providing insurance advice in particular has become almost impossible for some, with the ‘perfect storm’ of administrative and underwriting difficulty, reduced commissions and reducing numbers of experienced advisers all impacting their ability to provide effective services:
Insurance advice is too important to ignore…
“Insurance advice is too important to ignore,” says Viskovic, “…so we’ll be developing a specific set of services early in 2024, utilising the insights gathered.”
The data collected from survey respondents and a series of interviews will be captured initially in an inaugural Advice Support Research Report, and the 6th edition of Elixir’s Adviser Pricing Models Research Report, which is due for release in November 2023.
“Our research aims to offer practical guidance, sparing advisers the need for trial and error as they navigate their obstacles,” says Viskovic, who added that the survey is open to all participants in advisory firms, including:
- Advisers
- Practice principals
- Paraplanners
- Administration and management staff
Confidential submissions will be collated throughout September via a dynamic survey that will ask questions relevant to the user’s role and select firms will be invited to participate in private interviews.
All interested industry stakeholders can click here to find out more and to complete this important survey.
